


Of the Past

by 06seconds_left



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Community: kh_drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-25
Updated: 2011-04-25
Packaged: 2017-10-18 15:50:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/190502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/06seconds_left/pseuds/06seconds_left
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The past is never completely forgotten. Not even the memories of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of the Past

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: the past.

“Tell me who I was.”

Namine dares a glance up; the Superior’s gaze is steady, betraying nothing. She breathes. “I don’t understand.”

For a moment, there is silence. Then, “I want you to read my memories.”

What she finds is not what she expects. His mind is much vaster, much older than he seems to be. Everywhere she turns, there is darkness lurking. She follows the chains back through time and eventually, they lead her to the missing pieces. She traces circles around them, trying to see why they’ve been cut off from the rest. Finally, she takes a step forward.

There is a flash of light, so bright and so sudden amidst such darkness that it blinds her and she staggers backwards, unbalanced. Something cold strikes her shoulder, pushing her away. In that instant, she hears the clank of metal, the sharp sting of a blade and she sees—

— _a graveyard. A thousand dead keys abandoned under one sky. The lands echo with stories of the past. Kingdom Hearts. A masked boy. An old man. A girl. Someone else…Roxas?_

**_No._**

_He watches the memory unfold, his eyes sad, angry, resigned._

**_Ven._**

_A whirlwind of colours as lost memories rush forward, screaming for a way out. A body possessed. A heart invaded. The scene blurs as voices crowd her mind._

_Well, I’m voting for you._

_Travelling without your armour again?_

_The three of us will always be together._

_There’s a reason no one mentions the war anymore._

_You shouldn’t put yourself so close to the darkness._

_Are you out of your mind!?_

_I want one of those Keyblades for myself._

_Accept the darkness. Embrace it, Master Ter_ —

Namine gasps as everything vanishes, pulled away so suddenly that it sucks the breath out of her.  She blinks, trying to clear her head as she stands, squinting into the darkness. “Who are you?”

He doesn’t answer immediately, studying her from his post by the pulsing mass of memories. Finally, “These are mine.”

“Not all of them.”

“No,” he agrees, wearing a small, bitter smile. “But he took what mattered most to me. I’m only returning the favour.”

Namine hesitates. “He wants it back. His past, I mean.”

He responds by holding out his hand. A Keyblade materializes, a miniscule light in the darkness. The bundle of memories behind him trembles and for the briefest instant, Namine sees another Keyblade, a darkness bound by chains of light.

His words are soft, a wistful whisper. “So do I.”

\---

Namine watches silently as Xemnas studies it. “Is that it?”

“It was all I could find.”The lie comes easily; she does not have to fight to keep the truth from her face. “I’m sorry.”

Xemnas places the drawing on the table. He is neither disappointed nor angry, merely puzzled. “A sunset? What could it mean?” he says, already rising as he turns the questions over and over in his mind, searching for a solution.

After the door closes, Namine picks it up. She fingers the edges of the sun and it warms her fingers; the evening sky is cool, the crashing waves soothing.

Carefully, she peels off the memory. The paper flutters to her feet as she walks over to the open window, clutching the sunset tightly. Outside, the city lights blink at her, a mute witness.

In one swift movement, she thrusts her arms out into the air and lets go. The memory spreads swiftly, eagerly stretching wide before slowly beginning to fade. She watches.

When Namine closes the windows, all that’s left is the taste of salt on her tongue.


End file.
